CAR BUYING - How important is mileage when buying a used car?

The “new normal” 200,000 miles…     

During the 60’s and 70’s the typical automobile in America reached the end of its life right around 100,000 miles. Buying a car with 100k on the odometer was the equivalent of testing your luck. Even though it seems that 100k has stuck with consumers as a maximum mile marker to buy a used car, experts say modern cars haven’t even reached the half-way point of their lifetime at 100k miles. In today’s market, cars can expect to see a lifetime of 250,000 miles or more. New car dealers have felt the “Catch-22” of building better automobiles over the past few decades. Makers have to build better automobiles to attract buyers, but building better automobiles also means consumers keep their cars longer. New car makers have always tried to figure out how to build better cars without making consumers less likely to upgrade later, and profits have been affected by consumers who are in no hurry to get out of a car that still runs well.